The after Christmas update

Hope everyone had a really super Christmas and if you traveled, it was a safe trip. So many of my friends, including Elle Parker had some really nasty weather sweep in starting on Christmas Eve and continuing on through the weekend. We got off relatively easy here, although there was freezing rain Christmas night. Yuck.

So onto the Gwenna Project Updates.

Gwenna Project: Lost and Found (Mark and Josh)- I had to have my first copy edits in by the 21st... and I did. :) There was also some paperwork I had to fill out as well and so I got that all done and sent back. At this point in the project, I sit back for about four to six weeks and work on other Gwenna Projects. We are still looking at a tentative release date of June 21st.

Gwenna Project: VN2 (Nate and Ian)- With the holidays now out of the way, I can finally ramp up on this one. I'm still working on an "event" outline- this is color coded and lets me know what needs to be written, what I have written and what I need to overwrite. It is my goal, currently, to write a minimum of an hour on this on the week nights. Certainly more on the weekends. I'm putting on a major push to get as much of the rough draft done as I can by January 25th. That's when my second job starts up again.

Gwenna Project: Melody Blue (Holly and Dennis)- I've got most of the broad outline in place and I'm currently researching the English countryside for the time period. I'll be creating a fictional airfield and a nearby fictional town/village. Since I'm looking at high summer time of year, I'm also researching the typical weather in southern England. Once the first draft of VN2 is hammered out, I will dive into this. I've also found names for most of the crew including Melody's navigator and co-pilot. Obviously the focus is on Holly and Dennis, but there were a total of ten crew members that flew with a B17.

Gwenna Project: Imperial City (Pairing un-named)- Still only in the research phase. I continue to amass research materials about the Vietnam war in general and the battle of Hue in particular. I've pulled out some of my original research books that I've had for years to see what they have on Hue. And it turns out my husband has the entire Time/Life series of books about the Vietnam war and I'll be going through those as well. I continue to have a rough idea of what I want to do, but I won't cement it until I can verifiy it would have been feasible under the circumstances. It's fiction, sure- but I want it realistic.

Gwenna Project: Then and Now (Mark and Josh)- Sequel to Lost and Found, this will follow up Mark and Josh as they rehab a house in the Florida Keys during hurricane season. I'll bring in more of both men's backgrounds as Mark continues to struggle with his demons and alcoholism. He won't be making anything easy on Josh but then, where would the fun be if it was all sun and smiles, right? It starts out okay for both men, but Mark becomes unsure when Josh, unknowningly, catches the attention of another gay couple. Misunderstandings and jealousy all set against a hurricane that turns into a monster over night, separating Mark and Josh when they need each other the most.

I've also found a couple of intriguing calls for stories in certain anthologies that I'm going to explore. One I'd like to pound out before January 25th, and I probaby can do it in a weekend if I set my mind to it. The other I've got a ton of time for and need to do a bit of research on before I would tackle the subject. I prefer the novel format, but it wouldn't hurt to get my name out there in some anthologies.

And that's the state of Gwenna for now. I'll be updating the webpage with some new links to things I support or want to bring attention to. I'm still waiting on my artwork for that as well. I've got this Friday off for the New Year holiday and plan to use the three day weekend for work on VN2. Other than that, it's surviving the next few snow storms as they come through tonight and tomorrow. Oh boy!

My husband found for me this incredible HUGE book in the bargin bin at Walmart of all places. The Vietnam War Experience is the most unusual of my research books. It's tons of pictures (I LOVE the cover, btw) but its got all sorts of things tucked inside the pages, in pockets or stapled or simply shoved there. The Marines Guide to the Republic of Vietnam, posters and maps and my personal favorite- a pocket guide to Namverse. So Gwenna is very happy.

And Gwenna is nothing if not patriotic and I continue to find interesting links that help support our troops that I'll add to my website as well. My latest find was on the NBC Nightly News tonight and is a non-profit called Totally For Troops . It's helps get handmade Christmas cards to servicemen and women in Afghanistan and Iraq so that THEY in turn, have cards to send to their families and loved ones. It seems PXs are very picked over and it's almost impossible for our troops to get something as simple as Christmas cards to mail home. I think it's worth adding to my list of those websites I wave my flag for.

Update on Lost and Found

I've got my editor assignment and a tentative release date of June 21st. Gwenna is very happy! Things are gonna start moving now. :)

Gwenna project update

Gwenna Project: Lost and Found (Mark and Josh)- this is moving forward quite quickly now. Lyrical has my contract and sent me the "Welcome" package and I'm sorting through that as best I can. There is a lot there to look at and I have several forms I have to fill out so I've been working on those. Right now it's admittedly, somewhat overwhelming but I'm working through it a little at a time. I'm still waiting for an editor to be assigned to me and with that, a tentative release date.

With everything happening now with Lost and Found AND Christmas sort of rushing at me like a runaway tractor trailer on a steep incline, I haven't been able to devote anytime to my other projects. This does not make Gwenna happy as I really keep hoping to get back to work on VN2 at the very least. But tomorrow night is the last night I teach at my second job until late January, so that is going to help alot. When I'm not working on edits for Mark and Josh, I'm going to be all over VN2 with a schedule and goals and the idea that I'm going to push through to get as much of the first draft done before I start to teach again at the end of January.

I do have a new Gwenna Project to add to my list though- now that Mark and Josh have been accepted by Lyrical Press, I can go ahead with the sequel I had hoped to do but didn't want to invest in until Mark and Josh got picked up. So, I'm going to mark it here- the follow up to Lost and Found is going to be Then and Now. It will follow Mark and Josh down to the Florida Keys where they will be working on a rehab there.

So here is the current list of Gwenna Projects as they stand now:

Lost and Found (Mark and Josh)- Currently accepted by Lyrical Press and starting the editing process.
VN2 (Nate and Ian)- currently writing the first draft- word count over 25k.
Melody Blue (Holly and Dennis)- Still researching but outline is complete. Still working out some details but this one is ready for me to get started on.
Imperial City- Still strictly in the concept and research phase.
Then and Now (Mark and Josh)- Follow up to Lost and Found, I've already outlined this and it's ready to go. Will work on this as I work on VN2.